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HP's webOS: Top Contenders to Buy the Palm Operating System

  • By

    Jessica Davis

    | Posted 2011-11-08
 
 
 
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Amazon.comThis online superstar has been mentioned by more than one expert as a potential buyer of HP's webOS. But with its Android-based Kindle Fire ready to ship, does that really make sense? Or maybe Amazon would eschew Android for the chance to own its own all-in-one software-to-hardware integrated device.
Just a year after it bought Palm and its webOS for over a billion dollars, HP announced plans to discontinue offering smartphones and tablets based on the webOS platform. Many thought that was the death knell for the webOS platform. But wait. A whole bunch of companies are reportedly interested in buying webOS from HP. Some experts say webOS's extensive patent portfolio makes it a worthy investment for companies embroiled in the complex world of patent lawsuits. Others speculate that it could be turned into an underlying OS for some other platform or device. In any case, here's a look at the potential buyers of webOS.
 
 
Jessica Davis covers the channel for eWeek and Channel Insider. Her technology journalism career began well before anyone heard of the World Wide Web and has included stints at Infoworld, Electronic News/EDN, and the Philadelphia Business Journal. Her work has also appeared on CNN and Forbes.com. She has covered hardware, software and networking, as well as the business side of technology. She has won several journalism awards, including a national ASBPE award for best staff-written column, and was named Marketing Computers hardest working tech journalist on their inaugural list of top tech journalists. Jessica can be reached at jessica.davis@ziffdavisenterprise.com